


Of Wars and Wardens

by writingfromthevoid (astrifer0us)



Series: Of Darkspawn and Dragons [2]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Origins - Awakening
Genre: Gen, Multiple Wardens (Dragon Age), retelling of awakenings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-08
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:27:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24607690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astrifer0us/pseuds/writingfromthevoid
Summary: Six months have passed since the archdemon was defeated, and now a new danger threatens the world of Thedas. Follow wardens Tabris, Mahariel and Amell as they deal with talking darkspawn, conspiracies and an impending war.
Series: Of Darkspawn and Dragons [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/944709
Kudos: 1





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> awakenings time! i have the entirety of this story written out, and i'll try to get a chapter out every monday for the next 2 months while i work on writing some chapters on the da2 story, which has been named Of Champions and Catastrophes.
> 
> this story took some time to write mostly because i.... hated... writing it....  
> writing in Tori's POV was very fun and it was what really saved this story lmao
> 
> i hope you guys enjoy it nonetheless!
> 
> also a final note: due to this technically being self-inserts and me having gone from identifying as nb to identifying as a transman over the course of writing this story, i have chosen to reflect this in the story. awakenings will not yet have any hints towards this, but from oCaC on you can expect some gender-related issues and a change in pronouns. i will also be changing some things in the original oDaD to reflect this.

_Your Majesties,_

_My sincerest congratulations on your wedding. May your days be prosperous and blooming._

_I do not know how human traditions work. I am certain you will not mind if I do not elaborate further._

_Regardless, my sincerest apologies once again for not attending. I do hope this letter reaches you in time for the event – as of my writing, we are three days out from the Ferelden shores, and I am already regretting everything. Life at sea was not meant for me at all._

_Life on the ship, however, has proven to be… entertaining. Sten is as stoic as ever, and Zevran has taken full advantage of this fact by trying to balance various items on his head as he stands watch. What Zevran does not know, is that Sten has been putting books on the Qun under his pillow. We shall see how long it takes for him to figure it out._

_We shall reach Seheron in a few more days. I feel comfortable telling you that I am very nervous. I have some sense in security in that I am close to Sten, but I cannot help but worry._

_I hope things there are well. How is the rebuilding effort going?_

_My love to the both of you,_

_Lux Mahariel_

\--

_Dearest Warden-Commander Tabris,_

_That is your title now, yes? I must say once again how proud I am of you for taking up the title. I know you were hesitant to take it, but I am certain you will do well._

_Have you ever been on a ship? I do not suppose you have – you lived all your life in an Alienage, did you not? It certainly is nothing to boast about – I admit that I even got a little sea-sick in the beginning, though the tea Sten brewed for me has helped with that tremendously._

_Do enjoy the wedding, and give the married couple my blessings. Of course, I will be writing them a letter as well._

_Give my love to the others – I do not know who is still there, but I am certain not everyone has left already by the time this letter gets to you. Also, I would just like to remind you that one cannot be kicked out of the Wardens, no matter how much you do not like them. Loghain is one of us now. Deal with it._

_My love,_

_Lux Mahariel_

\--

_Dear Lux,_

_You can’t tell me what to do._

_Also, Loghain hasn’t been around much anyway. Lousy asshole._

_I did get a cool helmet, and a new sword. The armour is still stupid, and it’s collecting rust on an armour rack right now. I’ll put it on for, like, the wedding. For at least ten minutes._

_Wait, I’m the maid of honour. Should I wear a dress? Fuck, I don’t have a dress._

_I’m gonna ask Leliana if she can help me get a dress. Don’t drown!_

_Warden-Commander Tori Tabris_

_Hero of Ferelden_

\--

_Dearest Lux,_

_Thank you for your letter. The wedding was… well, it was incredible, really. Of course, there was a sense of sadness, as many people that we had wished to be there were no longer with us, but it was nice nonetheless._

_Irving led me to the altar. By that I mean, of course, that I led him, but the thought was there. I wish I could say I didn’t cry, but… I did. Alistair looked handsome, of course, and he only stumbled over his vows once, and when we kissed he lifted me up and twirled me around and, oh, it was like every young girl’s dream._

_And don’t worry, we’re being safe. I might be a queen and a wife, but I don’t think I’m ready to be a mother just yet. I’m barely twenty!_

_We’re thinking about getting a mabari, however. Alistair misses Falon. Speaking of, how is he doing out at sea?_

_The rebuilding is going fine. It’s been a bit slow with the wedding coming up, but efforts are being redoubled now._

_Also, did you hear we are getting a Keep?_

_Give my love to Sten and Zevran, and Alistair’s too._

_Sincerely,_

_Rosemary Theirin (!!)_

\--

_Dearest Rose,_

_Having a mabari would be good for Alistair. They are loyal creatures, intelligent. Besides, the symbol of Ferelden is one, is it not? As good a companion as any for a king._

_Falon is doing fine, thank you for asking. He was rather nervous, just like me, but has adjusted to life on a ship. I have trained him to do his business only in a designated spot that is easily cleaned, and he is a well-behaved dog who does not cause ruckus much._

_Not to say he does not cause any…_

_A Keep for the Wardens? Well, I know at least one person who will go ballistic over that. Do keep her out of trouble, will you not?_

_Regardless, life is going well. I hope yours is, too._

_Love,_

_Lux Mahariel_

\--

_Dearest Tori,_

_Alistair named me Hero of Ferelden, not you, if you recall. And please do not antagonise Loghain needlessly, if only for me._

_I heard from Rose that you are getting a Keep? When will you be seeing it?_

_Zevran also wants me to remind you to keep up your assassin training. He promises you a test when we return._

_I would take him seriously if you value your life._

_Love,_

_Lux Mahariel_

_Hero of Ferelden_

\--

_Dearest Lux,_

_Well, it took a few months, but we have a mabari now. She’s called Goldie. She’s ridiculously spoiled._

_That’s not why I’m writing. Vigil’s Keep, in the arling of Amaranthine, is officially ours now. Well, I say ours, I suppose I mean Tori’s._

_That’s weird to think about. Who thought it was a good idea to give Tori Tabris a keep?_

_Regardless, we would love it if you could visit._

_Love,_

_Rose Theirin_

\--

_Dear Lux,_

_I HAVE A KEEP._

_Come check it out if you can. It was originally Howe’s, and now it’s mine. Ours. The Wardens’. Which I think is pretty cool._

_Should probably start recruiting new Wardens soon. Build up the ranks and all that. Think Zevran wants to join?_

_Love,_

_Tori_

_\--_

_Dear Lux,_

_Now that it has been a few months, I feel it is proper to ask these questions that have been bothering me for some time._

_Where is Morrigan? No one I have asked has seen her since the battle against the archdemon. I know she surely would not have left without telling at least you – or I have gravely mistaken your relationship._

_How did you survive dealing the killing blow? Was Riordan wrong, or was there more at play?_

_I hope for your honest answers. I am a queen._

_Love,_

_Rose_

_\--_

_Dear Rose,_

_Your crown holds no sway over me. That being said, I will attempt to answer the best I can._

_I know where Morrigan is. Or, rather, I know how to find her, should I wish. We have talked, and agreed upon this arrangement. I do not wish to divulge more information than this at this moment._

_As for the slaying of the archdemon, I am afraid I am as baffled as you are, though I certainly am not complaining. It seems my story is not yet over._

_I apologise for not offering more concrete answers._

_Love,_

_Lux_

_\--_

_Dear Lux,_

_You infuriate me. However, I cannot force it out of you, so I will let this rest for now._

_I am writing this as I head for Orzammar. Shale has expressed interest in returning to the Deep Roads to find out more about her origins, and me and Wynne will be accompanying her. It will be… refreshing to be dealing with some good old darkspawn and other horrors instead of bureaucracy and meetings with nobles._

_I assure you, Alistair was not at all pleased to be left with it, instead._

_I hope this finds you well._

_Love,_

_Rose_

_PS: I have spoken with Irving, and they will be glad to accept Dagna for studies, so I suppose I will also make a stop in the city itself. A dwarf in the Circle – unheard of, but I believe we are ready for some change._

_\--_

_Dear Tori,_

_I am not certain how soon this letter will get to you, but I will be leaving for Ferelden in two weeks. I miss all of you. Do not worry – I will fly, so it will not take too long. I am looking forwards to seeing Vigil’s Keep._

_I asked Zevran, and he has politely declined to join our ranks. For the best, I suppose – blue and silver does not suit him._

_I will be heading to Antiva with him in a few months. Sten has business to resolve now that he has rejoined the ranks of his kin, and I would love to see Antiva with my own eyes – I have never been. Perhaps you could take a vacation and come visit? Rose could come over, we could make it a fun trip._

_Not Alistair, though. I do not think Alistair would survive Antiva._

_I will be seeing you soon – keep an eye on the skies._

_Love,_

_Lux_


	2. The Assault on Vigil's Keep

It’s dreary and wet, the kind of damp that sticks to your skin instead of falling down like proper rain. Tori trudges down the dirt path towards Vigil’s Keep, helmet under one arm. The thing has been annoying her since she put it on.

As she rounds the corner, an armoured young woman approaches. “Warden-Commander?” she asks, clearly uncertain. Figures. See an elf in armour with a giant griffon on the chest, practically still shining with newness (because like hell does she wear this shit in battle, mad impractical and just not her thing, you know?) and still think ‘but what if it’s just a soldier’.

The woman introduces herself as Mhairi, and barely has any more time to talk about herself or the Keep before Tori’s darkspawn senses start tingling.

(Yeah, tingling, there, she said it. Rose may describe it as some sort of premonition, and Lux has always been super mystical about ‘smelling the darkspawn corruption’ or whatever, but for her, it just tingles, damn it. It tingles or it itches.)

“I think it’s dead,” she calls out as they approach a guard furiously beating in the head of a hurlock. Mhairi comes jogging up, chestplate covered in darkspawn guts, and as Tori pats the guard on the back and tells him to get to safety, she looks at the caved in darkspawn head with only a mild distaste before turning to Tori.

“We don’t have a lot of time, Commander.”

“Let’s go kick in some more heads then.”

Lux has brilliant timing, and an even better flair for dramatics. They also have a dreadful habit of kill-stealing, and Tori rolls her eyes in annoyance when the Dalish elf swoops down in crow form, transforming mid-air and stabbing their sword into the genlock that she had, damn it.

“Figured you could use the help.”

And, like she does. The fighting’s heavier inside the Keep than out, and even with Mhairi’s assistance, she’s thankful for the additional sword.

Doesn’t mean they have to be a proud little bitch about it, but hey, that’s Dalish for you. They look better at least. Less ‘I’m more pale than Death itself’-y.

Oh, hey, and there’s a goddamn mage burning the shit out of some darkspawn. When did that happen?

“Uhh… I didn’t do it.” As he glances around, Tori notices the bodies of some templars laying on the floor around him. Cool, update: apostate. Because they really needed more of that bullshit.

The mage introduces himself as Anders, and despite Tori’s very justified protests, he joins the group as they move further inside. At least he’s useful, healing her wounds almost as soon as they appear. She’s still keeping an eye on him, though.

And because today isn’t enough of a clusterfuck already, Oghren turns and waves at them after taking the head off of a genlock. Motherfucker.

The mood drops when they find another Denerim knight slumped against the wall. When Anders quietly confirms he’s too far gone, Tori sighs and nods. She turns her face away from Mhairi’s tearful expression and kneels besides the man, who turns to face her.

“The… the commander?”

“I’m here, Rowland,” she answers. “I’m sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“We only had a moment’s warning before they were on us, Commander. The seneschal ordered a counter-attack, but they came out of nowhere!” He grips at her hand. “There’s one with them, a darkspawn who talks; his magic is powerful.” Oghren scoffs, but she’s not writing off anything that could be important. Drawing a dagger, Rowland’s eyes lock on hers with a steely resolve. “It was an honour to meet you, Commander. I wish I could have fought at your side just once…”

Her blade slides in and out with a sigh. The light leaves his eyes and she grits her teeth, shoving the dagger back into his belt.

“Come on, let’s go shut up some darkspawn.”

Rowland wasn’t delirious, at least. The darkspawn has a strange, raspy voice that gives her the shivers as he speaks to a man who replies with spitting hatred. She holds up a hand, signalling for the others to spread out, then draws her swords and creeps forwards.

The darkspawn is tough, but she’s got tougher people. While Oghren and Mhairi keep the other spawn off her back, she and Lux keep the talking freak occupied, trading blows with practised efficiency. They might not have Alistair here to cancel the thing’s magic, but with the way they switch between defence and offence, it barely has time to get out his spells.

Lux brings it off balance with a sweeping blow, and Tori takes advantage by kicking it in the chest. She lands on top of it with a grin, then drives both of her swords down into its neck.

“Shut up, you creep.”

With the prisoner back on his feet, they make their way down to meet the soldiers coming their way. Lux is at their right shoulder, and both of them sink down on one knee as the leaders of the entourage step forwards.

“It looks like we arrived a bit late.” Alistair sounds miffed. “Too bad. I rather miss the whole darkspawn-killing thing.”

The rescued man starts explaining the situation as they all slowly rise to their feet. Apparently some Wardens are missing, or whatever - kind of weird, but they are Orlesians, so it is well within her right to not give a damn.

When a templar woman steps forwards and starts accusing Anders of being a dangerous criminal, Tori has to resist the urge to sigh loudly. She can feel both Lux and Rose staring at her expectantly, and when Alistair asks for her opinion, she rolls her eyes before waving a hand. “I hereby conscript this mage into the Grey Wardens.” Or whatever. At least the dude has a sense of humour.

The group breaks off after the prisoner introduces himself as Varel, the seneschal of Vigil’s Keep (whatever that means) and the four Wardens group together. Alistair looks genuinely worried, which is a weird look on him.

“I’m entrusting the safety of both Ferelden and my wife to you, Commander.” Rose squeezes his hand and he gives her a small smile. “Rose can’t sit still when the two of you are dealing with such troubling things.”

“By which he means, he wants to come along as well, but someone has to rule the country.” Rose chuckles and kisses her husband’s (weird) cheek.

Alistair puts a hand on Tori’s shoulder, leaning in close. “May the Maker watch over you, Commander. And if anything happens to my wife, I will know where to find you.”

When they return to the hall, which has been cleaned out considerably in the time they were gone, Varel has already set up for the Joining. Their three new recruits are standing in a row, with various degrees of patience, and when Tori exchanges a nod with her seneschal, the man takes the goblet and offers it to Oghren.

Who belches, eyes clouding over white but remaining upright. Figures.

Anders is next, looking positively fascinated as he accepts the goblet and drinks from it. He keels over, but there’s no bloody froth or anything nasty, and sure enough, Varel confirms he’s alive.

Then there’s one left. Mhairi looks borderline reverent as she takes the goblet.

She drinks. She falls. The room goes quiet for a moment, Varel checking her for a pulse, before he looks up with sorrow in his eyes. “I am sorry, Mhairi. May the Maker watch over you now.”

Two out of three isn’t bad, she supposes. Still, Mhairi was a good one, and it’s not without a constricted throat that she helps Rose and Lux build a funeral pyre.

She was one of them, for as short as it may have been.

The solemn atmosphere can’t last, of course. When they get back inside, Varel is loudly arguing with two people and they only stop when he notices Tori. He introduces the two people as Woolsey and Garevel, and both of them start looking at her expectantly.

Brilliant.

She turns to Ser Garevel first, who explains about some hunters’ tale and a possible darkspawn breeding ground. Worth looking into, especially if the Orlesian Wardens were also looking into it.

Then she turns to Mistress Woolsey.

Hoo boy, she doesn’t like this woman.

At least there’s a clear directive: find Mervis, find out who she needs to stab to make the problem go away.

Varel addresses her with a final pointer on a missing Warden named Kristoff, and she adds it to her mental tally. At this rate, she’s going to have to start keeping a notebook to keep track of all the information.

Nah, actually. Glancing sideways, she sees Rose’s face is rapt with attention. She’ll remember it for sure.

In any case, all leads seem to point towards Amaranthine, so that’s tight. Nudging Rose and Lux, she heads back outside, intent on checking out the merchants Woolsey promised her, but is immediately ambushed again with news of an imprisoned thief. Life’s hard as a Warden Commander, apparently. How did Duncan do it?

Down in the prison, she’s met with a gaunt-faced human who’s glaring daggers at her. “If it isn’t the great hero, conqueror of the Blight and vanquisher of all evil. Aren’t you supposed to be ten feet tall? With lightning bolts shooting out of your eyes?”

“I see my reputation proceeds me!”

The guy introduces himself as Nathaniel Howe, son of Arl Rendon Howe, and accuses her of murdering his father, which she didn’t do, thanks, she was stuck in Soldier’s Peak killing zombies.

He also admits he wanted to have her killed, but honestly, after travelling for so long with the guy who was literally sent to assassinate the Wardens, it just doesn’t impact her anymore.

He seems alright though, and she’s in a good mood, so she conscripts him. To literally everyone else’s surprise. But, hey, she’s the Commander of the Grey, she can do those things now.

Varel looks tired as he prepares the goblet for another Joining. She suspects he doesn’t agree with her decisions. That’s alright, makes it all the better when he ends up living.

And what was it that Varel said? That they didn’t have enough Wardens? Well, there. She fixed one of their problems.

Time to solve some more.


	3. Amaranthine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> woops lets pretend this isnt 2 days late (for the .1 ppl reading this anyway)

While Rose goes to fill in their new Wardens on everything important, Tori goes over to check on their equipment status. She’s delighted to see Wade and Herren chat with Lux about their dragonskin armour and haggles about some poultices and potions, getting the group ready for the journey. Nathaniel is outfitted with some new leathers, Anders wanders off at some point and comes back with a kitten (Maker help her) and Oghren boasts loudly to the poor guard stationed outside the keep.

Within an hour, everyone is ready to go, and they set out towards Amaranthine. On the way, they deal with some bandits who kidnapped some poor girl and fight off some darkspawn on a farm that has long since been lost.

And, honestly, thank the Maker for horses. She is so done with walking everywhere. It takes them just over a day to get to Amaranthine, and that’s only because Oghren 1. has never been on a horse and 2. does not want to be on a horse and they spend the first 2 hours of the journey trying to convince him. She pities that horse.

Amaranthine’s pretty nice. She hasn’t been here yet, despite it only being a week from Denerim. She’d claim that she’d been busy, but, well, she really hasn’t. The hunters tell quite the weird story about a chasm near Knotwood Hills and eggs (she’s not sure yet how that relates to anything), but she pays them a sovereign anyway.

Mervis looks utterly delighted to see them appear, telling them about caravans being attacked in the Wending Wood. Honestly? Sounds nice and straightforward. Find out who’s attacking the caravans, stab them. Problem solved. “I will investigate it immediately.” Well, after that darkspawn breeding ground thing, probably.

When she turns around, like half of her group has wandered off. Typical. “Where’d they go?”

Lux shrugs a shoulder. “Nathaniel saw a family member and ran off, Oghren is getting an ale and I saw Anders and Rose talking to a suspicious lady. So, nothing out of the ordinary.”

A guardswoman walks up to them and she immediately stands on edge, but she simply takes a letter out of her armour. “A Ser Wolf asked me to give this to you, Commander.” Tori frowns as she takes it. Not the Dark Wolf, she presumes. Zevran should still be in Antiva…

“Wanna join me?” Lux nods and they head off to the meeting place specified in the letter. There is a suspicious guard standing there alright, and he leans casually on a fence as they arrive.

“I see you got my letter, Commander. It’s an honour to meet you.” He bows, while Tori just raises an eyebrow.

“The Dark Wolf, I presume?”

“In the flesh. The less you know of me, the better. But by some, I am called the Dark Wolf.” His voice drops to a dramatic whisper. “In the depths of the city, there is murmuring. Murmuring that nobles want you dead. I’d like to help.”

Tori sighs, exchanges a look with Lux, who just looks confused, and then puts a hand on her hip. “Buddy, I’m the Dark Wolf.”

As the man splutters and explains himself, Lux pats her on the shoulder and walks off. Fair enough. She barters with him for a bit, then gives him fifty sovereigns to unearth the identities of the conspirators he talks about. Better safe than sorry, she reckons.

She finds Anders and Rose coming out of an abandoned warehouse, sporting fresh bruises, Nathaniel bright-eyed and talking about his sister being in town, and Lux chatting with Wynne outside the Chantry. They regroup and head into the tavern, asking for information about Kristoff. They’re granted access to his chambers, finding some notes and a map, detailing a region called the Blackmarsh. Another point on her mental map.

While they sit down for drinks at Oghren’s table, she pulls out her actual, physical map and starts drawing circles. “We’ve got Knotwood Hills to the west here, and the Wending Wood and the Blackmarsh to the east of the Keep. I suggest we get back home, resupply and then go find this breeding ground first. After that we can tackle the forest and the marsh.”

Rose nods approvingly. “Sounds like a solid plan. You’re getting good at this.”

She rolls her eyes and waves her off. “Gotta be. I’m your Commander now.”

“Wynne asked me to find someone for her as well, but it should be able to wait until we get to the forest.” Lux takes the quill and adds something to the map in small, scratchy handwriting. “We should keep an eye out for recruits as well. The seneschal was right, we need to add to our Order, especially if the darkspawn remain a problem for longer. Normal guards just are not cut out for this sort of work.”

“We do make quite the group,” Anders says, considering. “And you can turn into birds, can’t you? Maybe you could scout out the situation in the Wending Wood in advance, let us know what’s going on so we can prepare…”

“Absolutely not.” Tori sets her tankard down with a thud, accidentally slopping some ale on the side of the map. She starts to quickly roll it up before it can get irreparably damaged. “The last time Dalish went off into the forest by their own, they got turned into a werewolf.”

She ignores the mage’s look of outright panic as she takes her tankard and chugs the last half of it. Oghren gives an excited woop, then burps so loudly half of the tavern turns around to look at them.

They return to Amaranthine with new information, only to find that she has to do another goddamn ceremony.

“The lords of Amaranthine have come to swear fealty to you, Commander.” Varel looks almost sorry for her.

“I guess that means I gotta change,” she mutters, looking down at her travel-worn leathers. She’s got her drakeskin with her as well, but she’s saving that for when they go take down some more darkspawn. “Give me half an hour.”

Lux helps hoist her into her Warden-Commander armour, and she sheaths the longsword Alistair gave her (“A Warden’s Companion”) and the Thorn of the Dead Gods into the sheaths on her back. Then, she steels herself and goes to play nice.

Lux and Rose stand at her shoulders while the rest of her Wardens station themselves around the room. The doors open to let in a whole bunch of humans in noble wear, and Varel introduces her. The room falls quiet for a moment and it takes Rose kicking her ankle before she realises she’s supposed to say something.

“Uh. Thank you for coming. I will serve you well.”

The lords and ladies come up one by one, swearing fealty to her, some more enthusiastic than others. She remembers what the ‘Dark Wolf’ told her about conspiracies, and takes close notice of those that look like they’re lying through their teeth.

When the ceremony is over, she walks the room, talking to those that draw her attention. People want her to defend farmland, other people want her to defend cities… She keeps her promises vague, kicking herself for not paying more attention to these things earlier. Surely Rose has mentioned shit like this before.

Varel asks for her opinion when she brings it up and she sighs before shaking her head. “Amaranthine has walls, the farms have fences. Send more guards to the farmlands.”

“As you wish.”

She sinks into her bed that night, staring up at the ceiling. She thought coming to the Keep would just be some pompous ceremonies and maybe some redecorating. Instead, she has talking darkspawn, breeding grounds and disappearing caravans.

She missed this. With a grin, she blows out her candle and settles in to sleep.


	4. Last of the Legion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i cant believe im a day late again but HERE WE ARE

It takes them just over a day to get to the hills, and finally get to the dwarven ruins by nightfall the following day. With no one keen on investigating things when the sky’s dark, they set up camp a safe distance away, their horses tied to trees with traps around to deter any bandits or spawn. “You can lead a horse to the Deep Roads,” Tori has always said, “but you can’t make it descend stairs.”

Or, well. That’s the first time she’s saying this. But she should say it more often.

Besides the occasional yelp or howl of the surrounding wildlife, the night comes and goes without trouble, and fresh in the morning they find themselves carefully going down the rickety stairs into the chasm. They fight off some deepstalkers before Tori spots darkspawn up ahead and whistles for the group to follow her. As she runs up, she realises that they’re dragging a dwarven woman behind them, and with her momentary distraction, she manages to kick herself free and grab an axe, providing a good partner to bounce the spawn between.

By the time the rest of the group arrives, the things lay dead on the ground around them, and Tori’s grinning as the pats the woman on the back.

She introduces herself as Sigrun as Anders heals her, part of the Legion of the Dead, and explains her intentions of going back to see if she can find anyone else from her group. She seems surprised that they’ll join her at first, but when Tori mentions they’re Wardens, she nods in understanding and starts leading them along.

As they come to the fortress, Sigrun suggests they take a side entrance, and it only takes a little bit of searching in between them to find it. It allows them to come in from the side to take on a large group of darkspawn, including a golem. Suddenly, she misses Shale. Fighting a big thing? Send in Shale to pummel it.

Nathaniel sneaks in to dismantle the traps before sticking to the back with the mages, his arrows covering for her as she jumps the golem’s back and climbs it like a tree. Or, rather, a very condensed brick wall. She knows their weak points by now, and it’s a piece of cake (rock cake, to be precise) to stick her blades in between the less protected bits, hitting it directly in the power source instead of blunting her weapons on the stone covering. Around her spellfire lights up the room and the two dwarves both let out echoing battle cries.

When the golem topples over, it nearly crushes Anders, who shrieks and falls on his butt.

“What did I say about ‘mages to the back’!”

“Sorry, I just wanted to inspect it! And Lux wasn’t in the back either!”

“That’s because that’s their role, buddy. Swords go stabby-stabby, staves go pew-pew from the back!”

They’re literally not even a room further in when Anders waves a weird rod around and a golem in the wall activates and starts walking. Maker, she hates mages.

At least it’s pummelling darkspawn instead of them. It’s an improvement.

“Think we can keep it?” she yells over the roar of a firestorm. Lux, concentrating on the spell while also trying to dodge the onslaught of crossbow bolts coming their way, shoots her a harried look and shakes their head. Worth a try.

And then there’s spirits. Of course there’s spirits. She lets the others listen to their creepy, echoing conversations while she goes around looking for anything interesting. All she gathers is that these dwarves were casteless, and they probably died here. Pretty rough.

There’s more talking ‘spawn up ahead, because this situation isn’t bad enough as it is, and through the battle she starts to notice that the darkspawn aren’t only fighting them, but also themselves. Which is… a bad thing, probably? Short term, good, because it makes taking them out easier, but if the ‘spawn are waging war on each other… Yeah, probably a bad thing overall.

They pass through a lyrium mine that casts the cave in a strange, blue glow. While the rest scouts out the adjoining caverns, she scoops up some of the raw lyrium powder into a pouch. Could be useful. Come to think of it, wasn’t that dwarf blathering on about bombs and lyrium?

Hm. On second thought, she fills a second pouch as well.

They find a guy locked up in a cage, and while he looks suspicious, she isn’t just gonna let people sit in a darkspawn infested hall. He doesn’t smell like the taint, at least. The lock is easily picked open, and she nimble steps aside as the dude scampers out.

“Hope he’s going the right way,” she mutters as they move on.

They start to encounter strange pods that burst with creepy, crawling darkspawn that are a bitch with how much of them fill the tunnels. They remind her way too much of spiders for her liking. Besides, why would they be encountering new darkspawn when there isn’t even a Blight? She doesn’t like this one bit.

And of course, there’s more talking darkspawn. Or, at least, she assumes from the voices coming down the hall. She’s a bit too preoccupied with the fact that there’s a fucking flaming golem.

“Dibs,” she calls, and she starts running.

In hindsight, she’s really glad she wore the drakeskin instead of the Commander armour. The fire still singes, but it’s almost nullified by the thick hide covering her as she climbs her way up, stabbing her swords into the cracks in between the stone. Occasionally spells fly the golem’s way, but at least her companions are smart enough to aim for the legs and mid-section instead of the shoulders she’s currently mounting. Every now and then she catches a glimpse of the darkspawn mage trying to defend himself against a dwarf with an axe, but she’s a little more concerned with the golem currently trying to bash her against the walls of the room.

A well-placed shot from Nathaniel’s shot sends the golem crashing to its knees and she stabs her swords into the head to keep a hold of it. One of the blades ends up piercing what serves as eyes for the thing and it howls in agony. She repositions herself, yanking the head up with the blade just in time for the archer to pierce its other eye with an icy arrow.

She jumps off of the golem when it crash lands on the floor and grins at Lux when the elf pierces the darkspawn on their sword and smashes it into the creature’s stony corpse. Once, twice, and it too goes still.

And of course there’s three broodmothers in a pit. Is anyone going to give her a break today? She whistles at her party, gesturing at the chains holding a gigantic container in place above the pit and runs off to start hacking at one. It breaks almost exactly in time with the other, which has been frozen in time and has Oghren smashing into it with his axe. She watches with a big grin as the container drops and crushes the ugly monsters into little darkspawn bits.

“Almost too easy. Hey, remember when I climbed one of those?”

They find their way back to the entrance. Sigrun originally means to go back into the Deep Roads, but it doesn’t take long to convince her to come along and join the Wardens.

When they get back to their horses, the traps have been dismantled and the ropes are cut. Looks like they’re walking.

She hates this place.


	5. The Righteous Path

It’s a long damn walk back to Vigil’s Keep. That is, it’s four days, which compared to their journeys during the Blight is nothing, but it’s long as fuck when half her travelling party is mages and the other half is stinky (Oghren), broody (Nathaniel) or…

Well, okay, no. Sigrun is pretty okay. A little too peppy, and she insisted on carrying this huge carved slab of stone out of the Deep Roads, but otherwise she’s okay.

Doesn’t stop her from almost crying in relief when they get back within the Keep walls. She almost hugs Wade when he asks her how the travel has been.

And then she gets inside and it turns out she has to do politics. “Help. Help. Helphelphelp.” She drags Rose bodily into her room under the guise of changing into an outfit that isn’t covered in darkspawn guts and starts pacing in circles while the mage sits on the bed and watches on in amusement.

“You do realise this is also part of your title? I won’t always be there to help.”

“Nope, but you are right now. Any tips?”

Advice given and clothes changed, she comes back into the main hall, giving a nod to Varel, who nods back before addressing the crowd.

Three cases are presented before her. First is easy, of course she’s not gonna execute a man for stealing some sheep in a time of need. She tells him to join the army and he looks at her with such gratefulness she feels her teeth rot. Second is a bit more complicated, sure, the deal’s on paper, but also Howe was a dick and the lands shouldn’t have been taken from the man in the first place. So, fuck lady Liza, no matter how angrily she glares. Third case is difficult, there’s no evidence to convict the man with, and Varel informs her that the knight that was killed had informed him of the same brewing conspiracy as the ‘Dark Wolf’ talked to her about. So, suspicious for sure. Eventually, she sighs and tells the guards to lock him up for further investigating, and that’s that.

She wants to sleep so bad.

When the room is cleared, Varel sets up the joining ritual once more, with Sigrun nearly bouncing out of her skin. There’s a pit of dread in Tori’s gut for a moment, remembering Mhairi, but then Varel confirms she’s alive and she sighs with relief. Maybe it’s just luck, but she’s really glad they’ve only had one death so far. She barely even remembers watching Daveth’s death anymore - it’s been over a year and she repressed that memory to begin with.

There’s a letter waiting for her from Ser Wolf in the morning. While he hasn’t been able to find out the names or faces behind the conspiracy (she has a good guess to at least one of them, and he’s rotting in a cell right now), he does know where they’re meeting. Good enough. She sends a letter back to Amaranthine with a hefty tip and the permission to keep using the name. He’s a good guy.

After some consideration, she takes Rose, Lux, Nathaniel and Sigrun along for a quiet approach from the west. Good old Liza Packton is there, of course, and she seems to have gained the service of some Antivan Crows, despite Lux’s assurance that Ignacio wasn’t going to let them take out more contracts on the Wardens. Asshole. Still, small fry, and they hide the bodies quickly and efficiently.

She makes a mental note to… disappear Emmerly from his cell later.

She gives her group a day to recover and restock. The plan is to go straight from the Wending Wood into the Blackmarsh, so she makes sure to pack enough supplies, falling back into her old habits from the Blight. Hide dry rations everywhere, pack three more waterskins than you think you’ll need, fill the empty spaces in her packs with extra bandages. She’s pleased to see Lux and Rose, and even Oghren mimic her motions; the rest, however, look on with faint confusion.

“Surely the forest will have water. It’s not that hard to purify it,” Nathaniel says, watching her fill another waterskin at the well.

“Never know if there’s gonna be Blight in the water. Better be safe.”

“We can hunt for food. There’s really no need to weigh yourself down with all those rations,” Sigrun mentions, snatching a piece of jerky from her pack.

“Animals are scarce when darkspawn’s near. Better be safe.”

“Commander.” Anders grabs her shoulder when she does a third check of her supplies. “You defeated the Blight. We’ll be fine.”

“Better be safe,” Tori mutters as she tightens a second bedroll to her backpack.

What? Maybe she’ll need the first one to put out a fire. Better be safe.

The forest is a mess of broken apart caravans and darkspawn and vengeful elven ladies. Well, one lady in particular, and she’s very good at sending trees to attack them because the humans kidnapped her sister or whatever.

“This stinks of darkspawn,” Lux mumbles, poking through a mess of remains. “Do you think they set this up? Turned the elves and humans against each other…”

“Darkspawn are stupid,” Tori replies.

“But then, we’ve seen talking ones now. Are they evolving?”

“I hope not.” Rose shudders. “But we can’t rule it out. Look, this looks elven, doesn’t it?”

She sends more trees at them, but it tires her out, and they manage to corner her while she’s clutching her staff to hold herself upright.

“The humans didn’t kidnap your sister,” Tori says, holding the trinket out towards her. “The darkspawn are playing both sides.”

“What?” The elf shakes her head. “Darkspawn are mindless. That’s impossible.” She comes closer, snatching the trinket out of her hand like a frightened bird. “That’s… That’s Seranni’s. She’d never willingly part with this…”

“Yeah, I found it on a darkspawn. Look, I don’t know why the darkspawn are acting like this, but I’m intending to find out.”

“Then let me come with.” There’s a steely resolve in the woman’s eyes. “My name is Velanna, if you care for such things. Do you know where the darkspawn might dwell?”

“Tunnels, usually.”

“There’s an abandoned mineshaft some ways north of here.” She points in the direction, looking a whole lot more lively than she did ten minutes ago. “We will likely find them there.”

“Cool, let’s go.”

Of course, her two Dalish immediately flock together.

“My apologies for the state of your clan, Velanna. I almost lost mine but half a year ago, so I cannot imagine the hurt you must be going through.”

Velanna scoffs. “It is hardly my clan I am worried about. My sister, Seranni…”

“We will find her,” Lux promises. Tori looks back and shoots them a look, but they ignore it. It’s all fine making promises, but if they don’t find the sister, Velanna might just go vengeful elf on them again. She’s not looking forwards to that.

They’re as prepared as they can be, especially with Lux sensing them from a mile away, but the darkspawn still catch them off-guard. A glyph activating underneath their feet, and the emissary’s spell catches them all in a state of slumber.

Right before her vision blacks out, she thinks she hears a voice apologising for what they’re about to do. Then, blackness.

“… wake up, damn it. Lousy Commander you are!”

“Uncalled for.” Tori blinks her eyes open to the sight of Rose hovering over her, her face pinched together in worry. “Wha’s going on…”

“Well, I did tell you I would involve you in our next jailbreak.” She looks over to see Lux sitting against a stone wall, arms crossed over a decidedly naked chest. Wait. Yeah, no, she’s also naked but for her undergarments. So is Rose. And… oh, nope, not looking at Oghren again.

“Where ‘re we?” Rose helps her sit up. Her head is pounding and her body feels sore. “Ahh, sons of bitches…”

“The mines, presumably,” Nathaniel answers. He’s holding his head in one hand, and if she squints she can see rope burn on his wrists. “They just carried you in.”

“Seranni?” She looks over to see Velanna at the bars, staring at a ghoulish newcomer. Tori rushes over as the Dalish elf clutches at the bars. “Oh, Seranni, what did they do to you?” She lets the two women converse, but eventually the ghoul runs off and while Nathaniel uses the keys to unlock the cage, she grabs Velanna’s arm.

“Don’t. There’s darkspawn all over, you’re just gonna get yourself killed.”

It’s a slow fight out of the mines. She’s not feeling great and without any equipment they have to rely mostly on their fists. At least she has some mages behind her.

Maker, she can’t believe she just felt relief over having mages with her.

They manage to retrieve their equipment from the darkspawn along the way and find some creepy experiment notes that confirm her suspicions that it was the darkspawn setting up this conflict between the elves and humans. Also, something about the Old Gods which is not worrying whatsoever.

They also find a Warden who got his legs crushed. Another one on her tally of ‘people I was too late to save’. She promises to find his ring, at least, and resolves to crush this darkspawn with his own damn maul.

They recover the last set of equipment and if Tori hears Lux mumble a “Sorry Morrigan,” against a ring pressed to their lips, well, it’s not her business. What’s more her business is the two dragons that get sent after them by the darkspawn emissary.

They make quick work of the dragons, then Tori uses one as a step stool to reach the emissary. Before she can reach it, however, it retreats, accompanied by a dwarf that feels like a Warden and Seranni. It collapses the tunnel behind it and she curses before jumping down.

Velanna looks furious, tears brimming at her eyes as she stares up at the collapsed tunnel. Tori puts a hand on her shoulder that she shrugs off, angrily. Then, she turns towards her, face setting in determination. “Grey Wardens can sense the darkspawn, correct?” At her nod, she continues. “I would become one of them then.”

“The Joining could kill you,” Rose warns.

Velanna scoffs. “I am not afraid of death.”

“Welcome to the club then.” Tori shrugs. This is probably a big mistake. But honestly, she just wants to get out of this forest. Now. “Let’s go. We’ve got Blackmarsh to tackle still.”


	6. Shadows of the Blackmarsh

The Blackmarsh is gross, wet, and it stinks. So, basically, it’s like home. They find dead darkspawn a little while in, so that’s a point in Kristoff’s favour. There’s werewolves too, which is less cool.

“Hey, are you gonna wolf out again too?” she asks Lux. The elf just shoots her a haggard look as they sink their blade into a wolf’s neck.

“Wait, what?” Anders asks. She ignores him.

They find Kristoff’s camp, which looks to have been abandoned for days. Not a great sign. Especially not with the weird darkspawn surrounding it.

It’s not half an hour later or they find the body. She’s just about to say something, maybe pay some respects or something to their fellow Warden, when a raspy voice speaks up from behind them. She turns to find they’ve been surrounded by darkspawn and shoots a glare at Lux. They should’ve been able to sense them!

“Yes, that is your Grey Warden. The Mother told it to me that if he was lured to this place, and slain, that in time you would come.” It laughs and it sounds fucking disgusting. “And the Mother she was right. The Mother is always right.”

It goes on to introduce itself as the First, then says it has a gift for them. Probably not a good thing.

It takes out an orb and crushes it into its claw. Then everything goes black.

When she comes to, there’s shit floating in the air and everything around her is a delightful shade of green. Fucking fantastic. It seems most of her fellow Wardens recognise the Fade for what it is, though Sigrun is looking around with eyes of wonder.

And the creepy darkspawn dude is still here.

Tori grins at it as it cries about being betrayed, and she’s still grinning even when it sends its darkspawn lackeys to attack. She knows a defeat when she sees one.

They start making their way through, killing some desire demons on the way (with Rose mumbling something about repairing tears in the Veil. Whatever. All Tori cares about is killing those weird nipple-tassel-wearing bitches. They make her uncomfortable.) and eventually come to some docks. There’s a lady, which is honestly weird, because, hello, this is the Fade. Not a lot of people here to begin with.

She turns into a demon, of course. It’s not even shocking to her anymore at this point.

What is shocking, is that there’s a damn spirit of Justice at the village gates and Rose is talking to it.

Tori leans over to Lux. “Isn’t talking to spirits generally a bad idea?”

“You are thinking of demons. Spirits are generally harmless.” Lux looks over at Justice, who seems to be advocating for a storming of the gates. “And it any case, I think it is a better being than the baroness who is keeping these villagers here.”

“No, you got a point there. Let’s just go and storm these gates then.”

The baroness talks with an Orlesian accent. That gives Tori enough reason to hate her, honestly.

Oh, that, and the whole ‘using the villagers’ blood to feed her army’ thing. That’s bad too.

Also, the First is with her. So, again, plenty of reasons.

Rose and Anders go for the wraiths, while the villagers assist Oghren, Velanna, Sigrun and Nathaniel in killing the undead. Justice heads straight for the baroness with Lux on its heels. So, really, that makes the First all hers, and she does not mind one bit.

It starts pleading with the baroness to save it. The baroness rips its lifeforce right out of it. It’s pretty cool, all things considered.

Tori’s knees hit dirt. She considers kissing it.

Instead, she looks at Kristoff’s corpse as it comes to life. “Hey, what the fuck?”

Justice helps them find the rips in the Fade, and they kill the demons spilling out of it with ease. Then, they head for the baroness for round 2.

She’s also a pride demon. Which just makes her a better target for climbing on.

Honestly, fighting demons is getting old. Even a pride demon isn’t that exciting anymore. She, Justice and Lux keep it flanked between them while the rest of the group deals with the demons swarming in, and they take it down fairly easy.

When it’s all done, Tori looks at Justice. It looks back.

“You wanna join?”

Lux stares at her, and she shrugs. He seems chill, and he’s in the body of one of her Wardens, so why the hell not.

On the way back, Rose fiddles with some bones, and then a dragon rises up.

Tori looks at it, then looks at Rose. “Never change.”

She runs after it. Time for more climbing.

The odour follows them out of the marsh, all the way through the woods. Though it might be the walking body they now have accompanying them.

“We pick up strange folk,” Lux muses, walking next to her.

“Yeah, no kidding,” she replies. “I thought an Antivan assassin, a disgraced qunari and a literal golem were weird. Now I think Sigrun is the least weird, and she’s legally dead!”

“You’ve got a golem?” said dwarf asks, jogging to catch up. “Like the one we saw in the Deep Roads?”

“Yep. More grumpy, though. It was being used as a scarecrow.”

“You are all so weird,” Nathaniel mutters, shaking his head.

They go through the Joining relatively quick. They don’t do one for Justice, which Tori thinks is a shame because it would’ve been hilarious. Velanna is out for quite a while, but she’ll be fine, so Tori goes to barter with Wade and check with the merchants. She also belatedly realises she should send a letter to Mervis, so she goes and pens that.

When she comes down from her room, the situation feels tense. Varel gestures her over to where her fellow Wardens are already standing, and she joins them with a wary look.

“Darkspawn are marching on Amaranthine. You must get ready for departure immediately.”

Why can’t things ever go her way?


	7. The Assault on Amaranthine

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wooo its been a while!  
> ive been going thru some less than ideal stuff - wont go into it here but its safe to say ive been less than focused on writing  
> however, with the news of dragon age 4, i got motivated to work on this series again! ill be posting the last two chapters of this work over the course of next week, and then start uploading the da2 part of the series when i have chapters finished!

Everyone’s looking at her. Tori makes sure to swallow, hard, a few times, before nodding.

“Rose, Lux, Justice, you’re with me. Anders, set up an infirmary, prepare for the inevitable fall-back. The rest of you, rally the troops and hold the gates when the ‘spawn come here.” She locks eyes with Varel, and he nods.

“Maker be with you, Commander.”

She gathers supplies with a feverish intensity, thinking ruefully back on the Siege of Denerim. Back then, she had an army behind her. Then again, the darkspawn also had an archdemon behind them, then. She’s got this.

An extra stash of potions, rolls of bandages, extra daggers and swords. She sees Rose strap a second staff to her pack, sees Anders slip Lux more lyrium. Justice is a beacon of calm in their midst, silent and serene, determined to bring, well, justice to the darkspawn.

They’re ready within the hour. She claps Nathaniel on the back, endures Sigrun’s hug, ducks under Anders’s hand and nods respectfully at Velanna. Oghren shakes her hand with such a ferocity that she fears losing it.

Then they ride. The journey should take a day - they make it by nightfall. The darkspawn are swarming the outer boundaries of the city, and her party carves through them with determination and anger.

Constable Aidan meets them at the gates and tells them the city is lost. She’s inclined to agree, no matter the faces of her companions. Before she can make a decision about what to do, a darkspawn approaches, alone. She holds up her hand when Aidan calls to the archers, curious.

It calls itself the Messenger, speaks of an attack on the Keep. Her Keep. It speaks of the Architect and the Mother. She turns to Aidan. “How certain are you that the city is lost?”

“Disease has wrecked the streets. Our defences are weak. We’d need a miracle…”

Tori sets her jaw. It’s a lost cause. Her friends at the Keep need her help.

But she’s not leaving an entire city at the mercy of the darkspawn. She’s seen enough ruin because of them. “I can do a miracle. We march.” She looks over at the talking darkspawn. “You. Join us and I won’t kill you right here and now.”

To her surprise, it actually listens. Rose throws her an incredulous look, but she’s already turned away. “Let’s go.”

Darkspawn flood the street, as expected, but she’s done a city siege before. They work like a well-oiled machine in tandem with what remains of the city guard, cutting down swathes of monsters. More and more guards join them at every turn, and she suspects some of them are even civilians, armed with whatever they could fine.

It could be minutes, it could be hours. But the streets are clear. Word comes from all corners that the darkspawn have been eliminated. Someone claps her on the back. Someone else offers her water. She stares at a pyre and says nothing.

When she hears the sound of armour rustling, she looks up to find Justice standing solemnly beside her.

“So many dead,” she mumbles, mouth dry.

“And yet so many others live. We have made a difference here.”

She just hopes Oghren and the others are alright.

There’s a new wave incoming. A day away. She really just needs to sleep.

They are given space in the Chantry. Her companions put down their stuff, then come to stand at her side as she addresses the gathered soldiers and civilians.

“Find able-bodied people, put blades and bows in their hands. You want your city to survive? Defend it. We need to set up an infirmary for the wounded, and clean water for the healers. Prepare yourselves, and then rest. We need you all on your feet tomorrow.”

The crowd disperses, and Lux supports her as she sinks down. “You did well. Go to sleep.”

Fucking finally.

Morning comes with darkspawn coming from the inn. They all gear up and head over, cutting down any darkspawn in their way. From there, it becomes clear that they’re coming up from the smuggler’s tunnels, which, fuck, didn’t she clear those out like two weeks ago? She’s going to have a stern talk with Aidan about this.

They clear out the tavern, general included, then head down into the tunnels. There’s, unsurprisingly, more darkspawn in there. A big wahoo for everyone involved. They follow the tunnels down and back up outside the city, where they find their last general.

Also, an ogre. In armour. Awesome.

She’s gonna climb it.

“Tori, get down!”

She looks down. Rose is concentrating on a spell. She looks back at the ogre she’s been stabbing in the neck.

She shrugs and jumps. Behind her, the ogre explodes in a cloud of blood and… bad. She sticks the landing. No one applauds, because they’re busy focusing their attacks on the darkspawn general. Boring.

It falls. Tori looks around, blades at the ready. There’s no darkspawn left standing.

They’ve won.

“Commander, the Messenger has given us the location of the Mother’s lair. We need to head out, now.”

“Well, what are we waiting for, then?” She turns to her fellow Wardens, who nod back at her. “Let’s put an end to this.”

Miles away, the Vigil is in uproar as news of a darkspawn attack approaching reaches them. The remaining Wardens gather, bolstered by the last orders their Commander had given them. Anders has set up the infirmary and delegated chores, and is now discussing with Velanna what side of the tower to take in order to rain spells down on the enemy. Sigrun stands on the battlements, using her new spyglass to look out over the fortified walls. Oghren sharpens his axe, a grin on his bearded face. Nathaniel counts arrows, and hopes his sister is alright.

The gates open as a single rider approaches, their horse heaving with exhaustion. They dismount, taking off their helmet to reveal the hardened face of Loghain Mac Tir, complete in Warden armour.

Seneschal Varel steps forwards, dumbfounded. “How… what are you doing here?” Around him, there’s equal amounts of surprise. Nathaniel chokes on his spit and Oghren pounds him on the back, laughing.

“I was sent to Weisshaupt, but diverted my course when I heard of the incoming attack. Where is the Warden Commander Tabris?”

“In Amaranthine, staving off a different attack.”

Loghain frowns, but nods. “Then, as senior Warden, I will do my best to aid you in this assault.” Not letting the befuddled seneschal reply, he turns to the gathered troops and starts barking orders.

The army approaches. Varel just hopes this new addition will help turn the tide.


	8. Depths of Depravity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> and that finishes Of Wars and Wardens! I hope to return to this series with the prologue of Of Champions and Catastrophes by next monday, so keep an eye on this series for a new work!

The path is a straightforward one. They cut through darkspawn left and right, carving a path straight through the middle. Occasionally they have to climb over the remains of a long dead dragon; as such, Tori is hardly surprised when an alive one lands with a crash, roaring at them. Justice is kicked back by one of its powerful hind legs and Lux dives down to save him from the tail that comes sweeping down onto his prone form. Rose murmurs a spell, and invigorating strength courses through her. She shoots the mage a grateful look, then runs around the beast so she can get to an unprotected flank.

Dragons are tough and this one’s no exception. Still, she eventually has to fall to their onslaught, and fall she does with swords sticking out of her eyes and her wings torn to shreds. They take a moment to catch a breath, healing up the worst of their wounds, before pushing on.

It’s not long before an unwelcome sight greets them. The Architect approaches and it takes all of Tori’s willpower to not immediately throw a dagger into its head. Instead, she listens as it speaks, gritting her teeth. It claims the attack on the Keep was a misunderstanding, that it only wanted to ask for help, and that it’s trying to break the cycle of Blights. That it needs their blood to free its kind.

She shares a look with Lux, and with Rose. She’s not sure what to think, but Rose has a considering look and even Lux frowns at her in a way that tells her they don’t know what to do.

She inhales, then sighs. “This may become a problem later. Architect, you’ve got a deal.”

Justice starts to protest besides her, but Lux places a hand on his shoulder and the spirit falls into a solemn silence. The Architect gives them all a slight bow, then retreats.

Tori checks over her weapons, then shrugs. “What’s one more broodmother, right? Let’s go kill this Mother.”

Of course, her doubts are confirmed when they meet with the Mother and she tells them it was the Architect - the Father, whatever - who started the first Blight. She shoots the image of the talking darkspawn a murderous glare, then draws her swords. “Doesn’t change a thing. You’re still gonna die.”

The Mother laughs, and then she lunges.

She directs as they go, shouting orders over the din of battle. Justice helps her flank the massive form of the spider-like broodmother, cutting down tentacles and carving into her flesh. Lux sticks to Rose’s side, using their blade to keep back the darkspawn while the Circle mage channels her creepy red magic to turn the ‘spawn onto their Mother. A rumble goes through the hall, and then a massive fireball explodes in the middle of a group of hurlocks, and she sees the Architect pressing a hand to a pillar from the corner of her eye.

A flailing tentacle gives her the upwards momentum to send herself flying at the Mother’s face. Frost clings to it, almost making her slip, but then it solidifies and she finds her feet stuck in a block of ice, pinning her to the monstrous creature. The Mother is trashing wildly, blood spilling out of her eyes that are wide open with anguish.

Her blades find purchase just as Justice chops down the last of the tentacles. She turns the swords in swollen flesh, hearing the broodmother cry out. Her death throes shake the tunnels around them, and she looks up in worry as pieces of the ceiling start dislodging. Oh shit.

Before she can start hacking away at the ice encasing her, it melts away, and then large talons are grabbing her and pulling her off. She looks up to find a massive bird clutching onto her and can’t stop laughing as she’s dropped to the ground. On the other end of the room, Justice has his shield over Rose, protecting them both from the rockfall. She can just see the image of the Architect touching another pillar, and then green energy washes over them, healing up the worst of their wounds.

For a moment, she considers trying to go after it. Then, she coughs and pats the freshly elven form of Lux on the shoulder. “C’mon. Gotta see how my Keep’s doing.”

Constable Aidan looks at them with a mixture of relief and wonder when they arrive back at the city gates. Amaranthine still looks back, but even as she looks now she can see repairs are starting to be underway. He presents their horses to them under a constant rapid-fire talking that boils down to ‘thank you for saving our entire city I pledge my life to you and whatever’. Okay, maybe slightly paraphrased, but that’s what it sounds like.

All of them are exhausted. She needs a fucking drink and then a week’s sleep. But like hell is she going to rest before she knows her Keep is alright. The ride back is uncomfortable and they’re mostly too tired for conversation and dread fills her heart at the thought of coming back to a smouldering heap.

What they instead come back to, is victory. Her heart swells to find her fellow Wardens rush in to greet them, looking haggard and tired and wounded but alive. She even hugs Anders when he spreads his healing energy over her.

Then she turns, and stares. Because that’s Loghain, straggling behind, Grey Warden armour dented and dirty, a nasty cut running down one of his cheeks. While Lux rushes to greet him properly, punching his shoulder with a grin, she can only stare. And glare. And then point at him. “What the fuck are you doing here!”

After Rose and Lux manage to calm Tori down, seneschal Varel manages to explain the situation. Assured by the fact that her Keep is still standing, she deflates. Though like hell is she going to thank Loghain. He’s never going to let her forget that.

Somewhere, drinks are procured, and when everyone stares at her, tankard in hand, she realises they expect her to make a speech. Awkwardly, she clears her throat and looks around the room.

“Uh… Let this be a sign that, even divided, the Grey Wardens can stand strong against any foe!” Then, forgoing any sense of propriety, she grins and yells, “We fucking won, bitches!”

Cheers go around and ale starts flowing. People start clapping her on the back, congratulating her. Even Rose, who’s always been the most proper of them, is laughing with rosy cheeks as she throws an arm around Anders’ shoulders.

Quickly, she realises she’s missing someone, though. A glance around finds her Lux, sitting on one of the chairs that has been pushed aside, a tankard forgotten next to them. Their head is bowed over something, and as she approaches, she realises they’re looking at a ring they’re fidgeting with. When they notice her, they look up, smiling.

“You alright there, Dalish?” Tori puts a hand on the back of the chair, pretending not to notice the shine of unshed tears in their eyes.

“Yeah, yes, I am fine, thank you. Just… overwhelmed, is all.” They can’t hide the way their eyes drop again to the hand in their lap before glancing up at her. “Go enjoy your celebrations. You did a good thing here, Warden-Commander.”

Tori considers challenging them, but then slumps her shoulders. “Alright. Tell us if you wanna go, yeah?” When they nod, she pats their shoulder before returning to the crowd. They’ll say what that was about eventually, for sure.

Lux stares after their retreating friend, then looks back at the ring, turning it on their finger with a smile. Surprise, alarm but warmth, then pain, then relief, then love, such unconditional, motherly love. They hope that somewhere, Morrigan feels their pride and their wistfulness.

They’re parents. It’ll take a while for that feeling to fade.


End file.
